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Craig Witt is the Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at MotionPoint, a company that solves the operational complexity and cost of website localization. He has 28 years’ experience in building, leading and scaling high performing Go-To-Market teams at global enterprises.

CONTENT THAT CONNECTS: WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING IS THE FUTURE OF GEN Z ENGAGEMENT

Gen Z is a business opportunity you can’t afford to miss. As 40% of the population commanding upwards of $40 billion in spending power, modern marketers need to build compelling strategies to engage with Gen Z.

The mobile revolution isn’t a new topic in the marketing sphere, but the growth and penetration numbers seen across the globe mean that it’s not a “someday” trend for brands, but a current-day reality presenting a massive opportunity.

For companies looking to reach and engage with customers across the globe, mobile marketing must play a prominent role in building a truly international brand. This is especially true in markets where people access the web almost exclusively through mobile devices.

Here are a few proven ways to put mobile at the forefront of your global marketing strategy.

Focus on Content Localization

While many U.S.-focused companies build the majority of their online content in English, there’s a massive gap for content that is available in multiple global languages. Moreover, there is also a gap in sharing that translated content over to the mobile realm.

Customers connecting with brand content on their mobile devices, whether it’s informational or e-commerce-driven, want to be able to conduct business in their native or preferred languages. Savvy brands can lead the way by staying in lock-step with the mobile behaviors of their customers. They can even serve up content to them in the languages they prefer, regardless of the device they’re using.

Keep in mind that while core content like product descriptions or sales materials are important, a complete experience that includes localized payment information, support options and search capabilities can make a difference between mobile customers abandoning their session or staying engaged.

Focus on the Right Markets

In key emerging markets, especially in Asia, the mobile-first mindset has completely changed the way global companies can and should connect with consumers.

Global search engines, like Google in the US, Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia, are setting the example for companies to follow. These search engine’s algorithms are prioritizing and surfacing mobile-ready content in their indexing and results. Companies willing to make a strong mobile content play should choose expansion markets that already show strong preferences for small-screen content to help them get in front of active, engaged smartphone users.

But having the right market expertise is critical to long-term success, too. Mobile-first content that gets found in search engines is an important step for creating top-line international brand awareness, but brand trust is built over time through consistent, authentic interactions that customers have with your brand.

That means choosing markets where you have or can invest in translation and localization expertise to give your content the genuine voice and substance — from language choices to cultural nuances, references and preferences — that will help you generate not just revenue, but the trust and investment of the community.

Capitalize on Micro-Moments to Edge Out the Competition

So, what exactly characterizes mobile content that’s brand-boosting, trust-generating and revenue-producing? It all comes down to capitalizing on micro-moments.

Micro-moments are those fleeting, impulsive instances when customers turn to their phones for specific, quick decision-making tasks. This always-on, instant access makes customers increasingly willing to engage with the brands that get mobile content right.

Localizing your mobile site, smartphone apps, and relevant content ensures that it’s all available to global customers in the moment that matters, on the device they’re using.

A few best practices to consider:

Speed matters: Optimize your mobile experience for pages that load quickly and use responsive design that looks and works great on a small screen.

The Future Is Here

Marketers have emphasized the importance of mobile for years, and space is already changing.

Advances in everything from voice-powered devices to artificial intelligence are already changing how mobile engagement will work in markets around the world. Businesses looking to build their brands across international markets will need to keep pace with a changing mobile landscape. That means starting now with smart mobile marketing strategy to stay ahead of the curve, and to keep pace with the evolving demands of a smartphone-savvy consumer.

With global mobile commerce revenue expected to surpass $693 billion U.S. in 2019, smart businesses are optimizing their brands for a world dominated by devices that fit in the palm of our hands.

By investing in a localized, optimized mobile marketing strategy to help their brand stand out, they’ll be able to capture the attention — and dollars — of fast-moving customers across the globe.

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